Is Monster Hunter World Really That Hard? A Veteran‘s Perspective

As a Monster Hunter veteran with over 800 hours played across the series, the question I often get from newer players is: how truly difficult is Monster Hunter World? My answer may surprise you…

Defining MHW‘s Difficulty Depends Greatly On Your Experience

Monster Hunter imposes vastly different challenges depending on your background:

To elaborate, let‘s analyze the journey in 3 key phases:

Low Rank: A Trial By Fire for Some; Refresher For Others

The opening 30 or so story quests ease you into hunting fundamentals against smaller beasts, with a couple early walls like Barroth or Anjanath teaching harsh lessons in preparation. This baptism by fire filters out less dedicated hunters quickly while veterans mostly coast through it as a refresher.

According to trophy data, 50% of players who try MHW will never clear the story. While not as brutal as some old school classic RPGs, it lacks the ubiquitous accessibility expected of modern titles.

High Rank: Learning Curve Intensifies; Build Crafting Becomes Crucial

Once you gain access to high rank gear after story completion, the game expects you to commit more deeply to mastering your chosen weapon style, fine-tuning builds, and learning monster movesets inside out. Dangerous tempered monster variants enter the fold here too.

While still manageable for skilled action RPG players, this stretch challenges both gear and skill. Fights become complex, unforgiving endurance tests demanding peak performance for upwards of 20 minutes straight.

Master Rank: The Truest Test Separating Veterans From The Rest

After conquering the story and grinding endlessly for decorations & streamstones, you might feel accomplished…but Iceborne‘s Master Rank immediately cuts your power level down, replacing that hard-earned gear with weakbones that barely protect you from the wildly powerful new beast Variants.

This gargantuan expansion stretches the learning curve far past any comparable action RPG. For context, I‘ve cleared Elden Ring and yet after 800 hours, Iceborne‘s Arch-Tempered Namielle still wrecks me embarrassingly fast when I get cocky. It represents a staggering leap that only the most battle-hardened hunters overcome through hundreds of hours perfecting their build and skill. Even veterans hit skill ceilings requiring flawless mastery of chosen weapons against the Tempered/Arch Tempered monsters.

So while Monster Hunter expects much from all players, it scales exponentially beyond the highly challenging 10-20 hours of Bloodborne or 50 hours of Elden Ring into a nigh endless skill gauntlet.

Key Factors That Contribute To MHW‘s Difficulty

Let‘s analyze the core pillars that ratchet up the challenge:

1. Mammoth Health Bars & Hitzone Values

Monsters have absolutely massive health pools designed around multiplayer scaling, ranging from 8000 HP for Great Jagras to 66,000 HP for Master Rank Kulve Taroth. Solo players must stay aggressively offensive for lengths beyond any Dark Souls or Bloodborne boss, ranging from 15-50 minutes for late game monsters. Veterans even speed run Tempered Lunastra in 33 minutes with ultra optimized builds!

Moreover, different hitzones values mean you inflict substantial damage only against specific weak points. So learning anatomy intricacies for weapon reach is crucial.

2. Relentless Assaults & Deceptively Fast Speed

Monsters maintain an aggressive offensive momentum rivaling Bloodborne bosses like Father Gascoigne, dishing out relentless heavy attacks enhanced by deceptively fast movement given their size. Meaning careless overcommitting meets excruciating punishment.

Late game variant movesets leave almost no openings, demanding hit and run tactics with particular weapons vs toe to toe slugging. You‘ll cart in seconds against Tempered Rajang‘s primal rage if you misread a single thunder punch wind up.

3. Stamina & Inventory Preparation Demands Mastery

You must craft consumables, buffs, traps, bombs & ammo while tracking stamina closely. Veterans intuitively juggle endless item combinations and effects mid battle. Beginners? Not so much. Capcom assumes you utilize the full breadth of complex systems.

As an example, my Master Rank bow setup synthesized 30+ consumables with 500+ hours of grind to augment armor skills & buff attack damage by 80%. Building such optimized setups can take months but it makes previously unwinnable fights possible.

How Does World‘s Difficulty Compare To Other Action RPGs?

Let‘s examine a few key analog titles:

While complete MHW faster than classics like Dark Souls, its scalable late game eclipses them all in scope with Iceborne doubling that runtime. Only ultra skilled veterans playing flawlessly clear Iceborne content within 100 hours as it pushes difficulty heights unmatched in action RPGs.

Best Weapons & Builds To Smooth Your Learning Curve

If you feel overwhelmed, try these weapons and builds catered to easing beginners into hunting:

1. Sword & Shield – Versatile Mobility

Well balanced mobility lets you dodge often while unleashing quick combos, topped off with a shield for blocking monster attacks. Use items and slinger ammo fastest with your weapon drawn for added flexibility too.

Suggested Build:

Focus on critical boosting skills like Weakness Exploit 3 first before piling on damage skills, working Vitality gems in once you craft decorations.

2. Light Bowgun – High Mobility Ranged Damage

Dash around unleashing rapid fire shotgun like salvos at weak spots safely from afar. Work on evasion skills to negate damage through rolls and sidesteps to minimize reliance on armor skills.

Suggested Build:

Go for Maximum Might first for that easy affinity boost after dodging and dash dancing. Fit in spare shot once possible for a chunkier clip size.

There are many more viable options too but these represent easier on-ramps to handling World‘s steeper systems.

Final Thoughts – Challenge Gives Way To Immense Reward

While Monster Hunter strikes an imposing first impression, its finely tuned craft borrows equally from tough-but-fair classic RPG design as modern sensibilities. Persevere through unrelenting early walls and you open up exponentially deeper customization for incredible moments of payoff where your astute preparation culminates in slaying mythical giants.

Iceborne‘s staggering scale strains even veterans yet with enough passion, anyone willing to study its intricate combat rhythms can pierce through the haze onto triumphant victory against all odds. For a truly Herculean test eclipsing any Soulsborne, go beyond World to where the real hunt begins. Only there will you know if you possess the unrelenting grit worthy of being called a True Hunter.

Happy Hunting!